Exposed: Secret Payment In Oligarch’s $7.5bn Chelsea Sale

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia and chairman Bruce Buck are reportedly set to bank mind-boggling bonuses when Todd Boehly’s takeover is complete.

A huge £50 million ($90m) will be dished out when the Boehly era officially begins.

The Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner led the winning consortium that is set to take control of the club on the back of a $7.5 billion deal.

The Sun reports the football club is confident the $7.5 billion bid will be cleared, despite Government sources claiming Roman Abramovich asked for $2.8 billion to be transferred to a Jersey-placed holding company.

And Granovskaia, 47, will scoop a mammoth $35 million when the deal goes through, according to The Times.

Both Buck and Granovskaia played substantial roles in selecting the preferred bidder to take over and are set to be handsomely rewarded for their efforts.

A Chelsea management team, which includes Buck and Granovskaia, will reportedly rake in a whopping £50m when the takeover is rubber-stamped.

Sources told The Times the pair will be awarded “transaction and retention bonuses” for the part they played, alongside Raine Group, in handling the takeover process of the club.

While Granovskaia will be given 40 per cent of the figure, the rest will be split between Buck, 76, and a small team of Chelsea staff who have been working on the deal ever since Abramovich first revealed he was selling up.

It’s also said those collecting a bonus worked “24 hours a day for five weeks” to get the deal done and are eligible for bonuses.

Boehly himself is understood to be the person responsible for determining the bonus structure for staff at the club.

And the decision to dish out the bonuses only came after Boehly and his consortium were selected as the preferred bidders.

There is not expected to be any Government opposition to the handouts.

That’s despite Granovskaia and Buck holding significant roles of power under the now sanctioned Abramovich at Stamford Bridge.

Chiefs at the club remain confident the takeover will be cleared, despite Government suggestions the club’s future is under threat.

Abramovich is said to have demanded for £1.6bn of the initial payment to be sent to a Jersey-based holding company, while the Government wants the entire sum to be put in a holding account before going on to the planned charitable foundation.

But rumours that the Blues could be “booted out” of elite level football are not thought to have got under the skin of bosses at Stamford Bridge.

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